On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Family Law on Monday, July 29, 2019.
People in Missouri who are going through a relatively amicable divorce might want to talk to a spouse about how they will announce the split on social media. If the divorce is not amicable, they should resist the temptation to vent about it even to friends. Avoiding talking about the divorce is usually the best policy, and people may want to check their privacy settings and block anyone who might cause drama during the process.
One reason for using discretion before and during a divorce is that what people say online can later be used against them. Parents should be even more careful. Conflict online can be damaging to children just as conflict offline can be. Parents might also have strong feelings about how much information can be shared about their children online. They may want to include guidelines about this in a divorce agreement.
After divorce, there is still little to be gained from speaking negatively about a former spouse. If there are children or one person is paying spousal support to the other, discretion may be particularly important. Agreements for spousal or child support or for child custody may still be modified if one person is dishonest about their assets or if there is evidence a child is unsafe with one parent.
Divorces in which the couple has a prenuptial agreement may go more smoothly than those in which this is not the case, but people may still want to be careful about what they say on social media. Prenups can be challenged in some circumstances. For example, a person might reveal in a social media post that they have assets that were never disclosed in a prenup. Furthermore, prenups do not cover matters dealing with child custody or support, so these might still be affected by social media postings.
